AND GENERAL aOKTICULTURE. 



145 



ERY 



killed by frost, and keep them through the 

 winter in a warm dry room, or in the eeliar, 

 covering the roots well with dry sand. In 

 spring cut well back before planting out. They 

 are readily propagated by cuttings of the 

 young shoots, or from seed which, sown in 

 boxes about the first of January, will make 

 flowering plants the coming summer. 



Erythrolee'na. Mexican Thistle. From ery- 

 thros, red, and Icma, a cloak; referring to the 

 scarlet flowers. Nat. Ord. Compoaitm. 



E. conspicua, the only species, is the pretti- 

 est of all the Thistles. It is a tall plant, 

 growing from eight to ten feet high; the 

 leaves, riot unlike the common Thistle, are at 

 the base of the plant, two feet long. The 

 flower-heads, clustered at the ends of the 

 branches, are about three inches long, and 

 very handsome, scarlet and orange. Young 

 plants are readily obtained from seed. Intro- 

 duced in 1825. 



Erythro'nium. Dog's-Tooth Violet. From 

 erythros, red ; referring to the color of the 

 leaves and flowers of the species first dis- 

 covered. Nat. Ord. Liliacece. 



A genus of small growing bulbous-rooted 

 plants. Most of the species are American, 

 and are common in moist woods in most of 

 tlie States. With but one exception the na- 

 tive varieties have large yellow flowers, borne 

 singly on a slender scape six to nine inches 

 high. E. albidum, a rare species found in 

 Iowa and southward, has nearly white flow- 

 ers, without the spots on the leaves common 

 to the species. E. dens-canis, common in 

 Europe, has purplish rose-colored flowers, 

 with light rose-color within. Propagated by 

 offsets. 



Erythro'xylon. From erylhros, red, and xylon, 

 wood; the wood of the trees is red. Nat. 

 Ord. Erythroxylacece. 



Bushy shrubs, or low-growing trees, chiefly 

 natives of "tropical South America, and the 

 West Indies. One of the species has a world- 

 wide reputation. For the following account 

 and description of it we are indebted to The 

 Treasury of Bota,ny: " E. Coca is the most 

 interesting of the species, on account of its 

 being extensively cultivated, and its leaves 

 largely employed as a masticatory, under the 

 name of Coca, by the inhabitants of countries 

 on the Pacific side of Soiith America. It is a 

 shrub of six or eight feet high, somewhat re- 

 sembling a Blackthorn bush. The Coca leaves 

 are of a thin texture, but opaque, oval, taper- 

 ing toward both extremities, their upper sur- 

 face dark green, the lower paler and strongly 

 marked with veins, of which two, in addition 

 to the midrib, run parallel with the margin. 

 Small white flowers are produced in little 

 clusters upon the branches, in places where 

 the leaves have fallen away, and stand upon 

 little stalks about as long as themselves. 

 The use of Coca in Peru is a custom of very 

 great antiquity, and is said to have originated 

 with the Incas. At the present day it is 

 common throughout the greater part of Peru, 

 Quito and New Grenada; and also on the 

 banks of the Rio Negro, where it is known as 

 Spadic. Coca forms an article of commerce 

 among the Indians, and wherever they go they 

 carry with them a bag of the carefully dried 

 leaves, and also a little bottle-gourd fllled 

 with finely powdered lime, and ■ having a 



EUC 



. wooden or metal needle attached to its stop- 

 per. Four times a day, whatever the nature 

 of his occupation, whether employed in the 

 mines, the fields, as a muleteer or domestic 

 servant, the Indian resigns himself to the 

 pleasures of Coca chewing, mixing the leaves 

 with lime, or the ashes of Gecropia. When 

 used in moderation Coca exerts a pleasurable 

 influence upon the imagination, and induces 

 a forgetfulness of all care. It is also a pow- 

 erful stimulant of the nervous system, and, 

 when under its influence, Indians are able to 

 perform long and rapid journeys, and oaiTy 

 heavy loads, without requiring any other sus- 

 tenance. But when taken in excess it pro- 

 duces intoxication, of a character resembling 

 that of opium rather than alcohol, but not so 

 violent, altiiough the consequence of its pro- 

 longed use are quite as injurious, and very 

 few of those who become slaves to the habit 

 attain an old age. Spruce says that an In- 

 dian with a. chew of Spadic in his cheek will 

 go two or three days without food, and with- 

 out feeling any desire to sleep." A prepara- 

 tion of Coca, under the name of " Coca Beet 

 Tonic," is now being sold ; but those who use 

 it will do well to remember that it does not 

 " make old bones." 



Escallo'nia. Named after Eacallon, a Spanish 

 traveler. Nat. Ord. SaxifragacecB. 



Ornamental summer flowering shrubs from 

 South America, suitable for shrubbery borders 



. in our Southern States. They flourish vigor- 

 ously near the sea, and can be used as hedge 

 or shelter plants. ' The flowers vary from 

 white to pink and deep red, and the undivided, 

 usually serrated leaves are often glandular. 



Escallonia'cese. This natural order is now 

 placed by Bentham and Hooker, as a tribe of 

 Saoiiifrai;acece. 



Eschalot. See Shallot. 



Eschscho'ltzia. Named after Dr. Eschscholts, a 

 botanist. Nat. Ord. PapaveracecB. 



Annual plants, with showy flowers', natives 

 of California, on which account the first 

 species introduced was called the California 

 Poppy. The seeds should be sown in the 

 open border as soon as they are ripe, as, if 

 tlie sowing be delayed till spring, the plants 

 frequently do not flower till the second year. 

 M£!,ny showy garden varieties are now in cul- 

 tivation, including double white, double yel- 

 low, and several others. 



Espa'rto. The Spanish name of Macrochloa 

 tenaeissima, used for paper making, cordage, 

 etc. 



E'stragon. Tarragon. See Artemisia Dracun- 



Etiolated. Deprived of color by being kept in 

 the dark ; blanched. 



Euade'nia. Fromew, well, and aden, a gland; in 

 allusion to the appendix at the base of the 

 stamens. Nat. Ord: CajiparidacecB. 



E. eminena, the only species yet in cultiva- 

 tion, is a striking plant with " singularly 

 handsome inflorescence, which resembles a 

 candelabrum in its ramification, the yellow 

 petals looking like pairs of gas jets on each 

 branch.". Introduced from west tropical 

 Afripa in 1880. 



Eubaly'ptus. Gum Tree. From eu, well, and fco- 

 lypto, to cover ; the limb of the calyx coveijs the 



